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Posted on September 25, 2020 by conorjjones

Chicken Marsala

A good way to cook chicken when you are looking for new ideas. I got the Marsala in M&S. Thumbs up from the family, and they don’t offer false praise.

  • 6 chicken breasts
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 600g plain flour, seasoned
  • 75g butter
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 shallots, finely chopped
  • 3 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 300g mushrooms, sliced
  • 250ml Marsala Wine
  • 250 0ml Chicken stock
  • Parsley, chopped

Put the chicken breast between clingfilm and beat with rolling pin to get about 5mm thick. Season with salt and pepper on both sides.

Dust the chicken in seasoned flour. Melt some butter and olive oil in a pan over a medium heat. Fry chicken, 3 mins on 3 each side until golden. Take chicken out and set aside, it will not be fully cooked but will be completed later.

Add some butter and olive oil to the pan. Add garlic and shallot and fry for 3 minutes. Then add the mushrooms and deglaze the pan as the mushrooms release water. Reduce over 5 mins over medium heat. Then add the wine and reduce by half.  Then add the chicken back with the chicken stock. Cook for 10 minutes. Add the chopped parsley.

Serve with mash potatoes and a green veg.

If there is no Marsala, an alternative is two parts white wine, one part cognac and a table spoon of brown sugar, heated in a pan to dissolve sugar.

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Posted on September 6, 2020 by conorjjones

Beef Stroganov

Credit goes to Larousse Gastronomique for the recipe. This is a luxurious dish and not cheap to make. Buy good filet beef and it will not disappoint.

  • 600g Fillet Beef
  • 1 x Carrots
  • 5 x Onions, sliced in rings
  • Thyme
  • 300 g Button mushrooms, thin sliced
  • 300 ml Double Cream
  • Parsley
  • 250 ml White Wine
  • Butter
  • 2 tbsp Cognac

Cut filet beef into thin strips. Place in a dish with some sliced onion, sliced carrot, and thyme. Cover with 250ml white wine. Cover and leave to marinade for a few hours. Then remove the beef and strain the marinade. Add marinade to a pan and reduce by half then set aside.

Sauté the onions in olive oil in a hot pan until light brown. Remove to a plate. Sauté the mushrooms in olive oil in a hot pan until light brown. Remove to plate.

Sauté the beef in butter in a hot pan. Turn the beef after a minute. Add the cognac and flambe. Cook of a maximum two minutes so it remains pink in the middle. Remove the beef to a plate along with juices.

To finish the dish. Add the mushrooms and onion to the pan. Add the reduced marinade. Add the beef juices. Add the cream and reduce over a high heat and 3 or 4 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Add salt and pepper and stir in. Lastly, add the beef and heat for a further minute.

Add parsley and serve with some basmati rice.

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Posted on August 20, 2020 by conorjjones

Anchovy Garlic Crumb Pasta

How do you get kids to eat anchovy? Don’t tell them its in this delicious quick pasta dish. Credit to bon appetit for the recipe.

  • 8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 250g sourdough crust removed
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • Pepper
  • 5 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tin anchovy, less if you prefer
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 250g spaghetti
  • 60g grated Pecorino or parmesan or a mix of both
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
  • 2 tbsp butter

Any bread will do, but sourdough crisps up very well. Add bread, garlic and lemon zest to a Magimix and blitz into a largish crumb. On a medium heat, add olive oil to a pan and add the crumb. Let it crisp, tossing every now and then. Remove to a paper towel and let it cool.

Cook pasta and reserve some pasta water.

In a pan on medium heat, add the rest of the garlic, the chilli flakes, and the anchovy. Cook until the garlic starts to brown. Add the lemon juice and some pasta water (a few tablespoons) bring to simmer. Add the butter and stir in. Then slowly add the cheese and make sure you stir well, and it emulsifies before adding more. Keep adding the cheese until the sauce is finished. Add the pasta and stir well. Add some more pasta water to loosen if needed. Add the chopped parsley and stir in. Season with some pepper. Then add the crumb, stir and serve.

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Posted on June 18, 2020 by conorjjones

Ginger chicken

The kids like this but still don’t like the idea of fish sauce.

Serves 8

Ingredients

  • 1.5 kg mixed breast and chicken thighs. Buy the thighs deboned if you can, otherwise debone.

Marinade

  • 1 tbsp chicken stock cube, crumbled
  • 3 tbsp white sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • 2 tsp white sugar

Aromatics

  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 4-cm piece ginger, fine chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, fine chopped
  • 1 large shallot, fine chopped
  • 2-½ tbsp fish sauce
  • 200 ml water

Garnish

  • 2 tablespoons chopped coriander /green onions

Cut the chicken breast open like a book. Then cut into 2 cm square flat pieces. Cut the thighs in four. Mix in marinade, cover with film and place in fridge for an hour, or longer if you have time.

Place 2 tsp sugar in the wok, and let it brown and caramelise. Then add the chicken on a high heat for 2 mins.  Then reduce heat, turn, and fry the chicken until caramelised and browned, turning every minute for about 4 or 5 mins. Remove chicken from the wok.

Add a little oil to the wok and on a high heat, add the aromatics. Fry for a minute. Then add the chicken. Then add the fish sauce and cook a little. Add a 200 ml water to blend all the flavours. Reduce heat to low, place a lid on wok and cook for 20 mins till the liquid reduces and thickens to sticky coating on chicken.

Garnish with coriander and chopped green onions.

Serve with Jasmine rice and some pickled vegetables.

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Posted on May 27, 2020 by conorjjones

BBQ Chicken Satay And Noodle Salad

8 Chicken Breast (about 1 kg), cut in 2 cm squares

Marinade

  • 3 Lemongrass stems, white part finely chopped
  • 1 Onion large, chopped
  • 6 Garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 Chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp Cumin powder
  • 4 tsp Coriander powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 100 ml Vegetable oil

Sauce

  • 200g Smooth Peanut butter
  • 400ml Coconut Milk
  • 200ml Water
  • 3 tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce
  • 1.5 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 3 tsp Lemon Juice

Noodle Salad

  • 250g Medium Noodle
  • 1 Carrot, shredded
  • ½ Cucumber, deseed and shredded
  • 1 Green Pepper, julienne
  • 1 Red Pepper, julienne
  • 4 Green Onion, white part, julienne
  • Coriander, chopped
  • Red Onion, sliced
  • 2 Chilli, fine chop

Dressing

  • 1/3 Cup Olive Oil
  • 1 tbsp Sesame Oil
  • Ginger
  • 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • Zest and juice of half an orange
  • 1 tbsp ginger
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp sesame seeds

Mix chicken with marinade in a Ziplock bag and leave in fridge for 1 hour. Then place chicken on skewers and place on BBQ turning frequently until browned. Then move to indirect heat to finish cooking.

Place ingredients for the sauce in a pot and bring to a simmer. It will reduce and thicken. After 5 mins, remove from the heat and it will thicken further.

Place skewers on a platter and drizzle over some satay sauce. Serve the remaining sauce in bowls.

Mix dressing ingredients in a dressing bottle and shake well.

Marinade the shredded vegetables for 15 mins in some dressing. Then toss in cooked noodles with some more dressing. Place on a platter and garnish with coriander.

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Posted on May 7, 2020 by conorjjones

Chicken Katsu Curry

Cooked for the first time tonight thanks to Wagamama sharing their recipe on The Daily Mail. A family pleaser, very nice indeed.

Serves 6

Sauce

  • 2-3 tbsp of vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 6 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 4 cm piece of ginger, fine chopped
  • 2 tsp of turmeric
  • 4 tbsp curry powder
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 750ml chicken or vegetable stock
  • 250ml coconut milk
  • 2 tsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tsp sugar

The Breaded Chicken

  • Vegetable oil
  • 6 skinless chicken breasts,
  • 100g plain flour
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 200g panko breadcrumbs

Rice

  • Rice, jasmine or basmati or whatever you like

In a pan, sauté the onion, garlic, ginger for s few minutes (around 3 or 4) in vegetable oil. Then add the curry powder and turmeric. Cook for a while (2 mins) to allow spices to bloom. Then add the flour and cook for a minute. Add the stock, stir in and it will thicken. Then add the coconut, soy sauce and sugar. Cook on low heat for 20 mins. Remove from heat and let cool. Blitz with a stick blender until smooth. For the purists and maximum smoothness, pour sauce through sieve. We skip this as it is smooth enough for us.

Using a very sharp knife, cut the chicken filet in half, opening it like a book, season with salt and pepper. Take each piece in a Ziploc bag and hammer out to 1 cm thickness. Dredge in flour, shack off excess, dip in egg wash and cover in panko. Heat some olive oil in a pan and cook each side of chicken for 3 mins until golden. Clean out pan and cook each batch of chicken in clean hot oil.

Cut chicken into stripes and plate on bed of rice. Pour over some curry sauce. Serve with poppadoms, chutney and a dressed green salad.

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Posted on May 4, 2020 by conorjjones

Pulled Pork Burritos

Preparing Mexican is a bit of fun as everyone tends to get involved and does some chopping.

  • 3.5 kg Pork shoulder, boneless. This will feed 14.
  • 3 tsp paprika
  • 3 tsp ground cumin
  • 3 tsp pepper
  • 3 tsp brown sugar
  • 1.5 tsp salt
  • 1 L apple juice

Mix the rub spices in a bowl. Place pork in a large casserole, rub spices into all sides of the pork. Pour in the apple juice. Place on a hob and bring to a simmer. Then place in bottom of aga, or in electric oven on a low heat for 8 hours. Take out a let cool a little. Remove pork onto a large tray and break apart with your hands.

To make BBQ sauce for the pork.

  • 200g Brown Sugar
  • 200g Ketchup
  • 4 tbsp Worcester sauce
  • 2 tbsp hot sauce (Franks or Chipotle Tabasco or Siracha)
  • 1 tbsp English mustard
  • Juice of two oranges
  • 200 ml apple juice
  • 100 ml bourdon, whiskey or cognac
  • 4 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Mix in a pot and bring to a boil and reduce until it is thick and sticky.

Take half of the pork in a non-stick pan and mix in some BBQ sauce (Keep the remaining sauce and serve with the pork.). Over a high heat allow the pork to caramelize a little. This will feed 7 people. The balance can be frozen for a future meal. We serve the pork with all these …

  • Rice Salad
  • Tortilla
  • Taco Shells
  • Tortilla Chips
  • Guacamole
  • Tomato salsa
  • Grated cheese
  • Sour Cream
  • Hot sauce
  • BBQ sauce
  • Lime segments

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Posted on April 27, 2020 by conorjjones

Baby back ribs

Cook low and slow for best results. 6 hours they took to prepare. 8 mins to eat the lot. The kids were like sharks feeding.

  • 4 x Racks of Baby Back Ribs
  • 1 Cup of Apple juice
  • Salt
  • Pepper

Sauce

  • 235g or 1 cup ketchup
  • 115g cup lightly packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

In a large tray lined with tin foil, place the four ribs, season with salt and pepper and pour over the apple juice. Close over the tin foil to seal. Place in lower oven of an AGA for six hours. Or use electric oven on a low temperature to cook low and slow.

Prepare the sauce by placing all the ingredients in a pot and put on a low heat to melt sugar on blend all the ingredients. Remove ribs from bottom of oven. Place of a baking tray (you’ll need two trays for 4 ribs) and baste with the sauce. Place in hot oven for 30 mins, removing frequently to continue basting.

Let cool a little before eating to avoid burning your mouth as they tend to be eaten quickly.

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Posted on April 26, 2020 by conorjjones

Sweet and sour pork

Sweet and Sour Pork

Marinate Pork

  • Vegetable oil
  • 500g Pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
  • 2 tbsp Soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp Chinese wine or Sherry
  • 2 tsp white pepper
  • 1-inch ginger, fine chopped

Batter

  • 3 Eggs
  • 125g corn starch
  • Mix to form batter with consistency of thick cream

Sauce

  • 1 tbsp Ketchup
  • 4 tbsp vinegar
  • 3.5 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • Corn flour slurry, mix 4 tbsp water, 1 tbsp corn flour

Vegetables

  • Vegetable oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, fine chopped
  • 2 Peppers, one red, one green, cut in squares
  • 1 Onion, cut in squares
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp Chinese wine

Cut pork into thin strips. Marinate in a bowl with the soy, wine, pepper and ginger for a few hours.

Make up the batter by mixing the eggs and cornflour until smooth, with the consistency of thick cream.

Mix cornflour mix into the pork. Heat oil in a wok and add the pork pieces one at a time. Cook for 3 or 4 mins until crisp. Remove to rack. Continue to cook the remaining pork in batches without overcrowding the wok.

Clean wok, add a little oil and stir fry the garlic. Add the ketchup, sugar, and the rest of the sauce ingredients. Add the corn-starch slurry last and let thicken. Add the pork and coat with sauce.

Serve with rice.

Vegetables are optional.

Heat a little oil in a wok, add the garlic, cook for a minute, then add the peppers and the onion. Add a little salt. After a minute, add a dash of Chinese wine. Serve alongside the pork and rice.

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Posted on April 22, 2020 by conorjjones

Chicken wings

This is a clever way to cook chicken wings by baking. Thanks to Chef John for the tip and the recipe. The kids said they are as good as Elephant and Castle who are the gold standard in wings in these parts.

  • 4.5Kg Chicken wings
  • 1 tbsp salt ( about ½ tsp per kg)
  • 1 tbsp black pepper, ground
  • 1 tbsp paprika
  • 6 tbsp baking powder

Sauce

  • 1 bottle Franks hot sauce
  • Butter

Heat on 1-part butter to 1.5-part hot sauce. You will need the whole bottle for this volume wings. Mix till the two form an emulsion

Coat the wings in the baking powder mix. Place the wings on a grate sitting on a baking tray. Place in oven at 220 degrees centigrade.  Bake in oven for 1 hour, turning the wings once. Remove from oven. Put wings in a big mixing bowl and pour over some of the sauce. Toss so that all the wings are covered in some sauce. Decant to serving bowl. Serves with extra sauce on the sides with plenty of serviettes.

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